Thanksgiving Prep

My best advice to anyone this time of year is to work ahead as much as possible. Even though my guests bring something for our dinner, there is still lots to do. Just like Santa, I make a list and check it twice. I write my menu and note who is bringing a dish and what it is. Then I make my grocery list and shop purposefully so I don't forget anything.

Now it's 8 days until Thanksgiving and I am pleased to say that my shopping is done and I have baked two different batches of rolls and made the fruit salad. Those items are in the freezer and ready to heat and/or serve. Hooray! The photo below is the second batch of rolls (honey oatmeal) next to my favorite workhorse bowl. It belonged to my grandmother and then my mom used it before I inherited it. They are both watching over me from above and I think of them every time I use it. So the secret ingredient in my food really is love. Happy Thanksgiving!

                                                  

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is my second favorite holiday next to Christmas. I have my orange lights and scary bats on my front porch. My witch hat, boa and candy are ready for tonight. I love making cards for Halloween so I am sharing three of them with you today. I had a great time creating with Graphic 45 papers.

Expo Weekend

I just spent Friday and Saturday at the Stamp and Scrapbook Expo in Kansas City Missouri. I had a great time! I took six classes and shopped, shopped, shopped. The classes were all really good, with cute cards and great instructors. I will definitely go back next year.

Happy Birthday America!!!!!!

                                         

Trying New Techniques

I think it is very easy to get into a rut with my card making. Thanks to a couple of forums I belong to I have the chance to try some new techniques. The first one I tried today is a chalkboard technique. It looks just like a chalkboard but it is done on plain black card stock. I found it to be an easy and fun technique.

                                                                     


The next technique I used today is a Bleached Image Technique. I found the tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers. It's a great website for finding new techniques. I had a little trouble with this one because my very heavy Kraft paper did not bleach out at all. I changed to a lighter weight paper and I could see the bleaching begin instantly. So, word to the wise: test your paper with bleach before you stamp and emboss your image. It may save you some time and material. The finished card turned out well.

                                                                 

I'm Back!

We just spent 2 weeks on Anna Maria Island, Florida. It's our favorite vacation spot and we had a wonderful trip. Here are two of my favorite sunsets for you to enjoy:



Right after we got home we had a Game Night Crop on the We Craft Cards forum. It was a really fun crop which produced some great cards. Here are a few of mine:

Monochrome Card

I just entered this card in a Monochrome Challenge on The Outlawz. Monochrome is not my favorite technique but I do like the way this one turned out.  That's why I like doing challenges; they force me to do things I might not do otherwise. It's easy to get into a rut. I like to stay out of the rut!